Discussion of Issues Related to Assessing the Signed and Spoken Language Skills of Bi/Multilingual Children

Abstract

This chapter is a joint discussion of key items related to the assessment of bi-/multilingual deaf and hearing learners with and without a developmental language disorder that were presented in Chapters 6.1 and 6.2. While there is a growing body of evidence describing best practice in the assessment of bilingual children who use spoken languages, there is scant evidence or recommendations available regarding the assessment of bilingual children who use signed languages. This discussion outlines how knowledge from the assessment of spoken languages can be used to inform practice in assessing signed languages for bilingual deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) children.